Despite the NFL season consisting of just one game, an NFL analyst believes that North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick could find his way back to the league. Granted, overreaction can become an integral part of the 24-hour news cycle.
Teams will jump up in power rankings in one week, while others that struggle will sink in the minds of others. As a result, names are bandied about as possible solutions to current team issues and problems.
Colin Cowherd On Bill Belichick’s Fit for the Miami Dolphins to Replace Mike McDaniel
Despite two playoff appearances in his first four seasons, McDaniel’s seat could start to warm. After the Colts defeated the Dolphins by 25 points, Cowherd made the case for the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach to leave the college ranks on his eponymously named podcast.
“Listen, what about Belichick? Got a place in Jupiter, doesn’t he? I mean, Miami loves sex appeal. All their teams do. Does Bill have sex appeal in 2026? Well, I will tell you this. I don’t think he’s built for college. I said this before. I mean, he, he, and Mike Lombardi, they’re NFL guys. I mean, he can’t draft. How can he recruit?”
Currently, Belichick’s Tar Heels sit 1-1. College football analysts see North Carolina as a middling team, at best. With teams like Clemson, the University of Miami, Florida State, and Georgia Tech presumably better than they are, the Tar Heels do not look like championship contenders.
Now, to Cowherd’s points, which, on paper, make sense. First, if Belichick owns a house in Jupiter, Fla., that sits roughly 90 minutes or 77 miles away, depending on traffic now, with that superficial point set aside, the analyst’s other two thoughts could ring the truest.
North Carolina’s general manager, Mike Lombardi, only held one college job: Working for UNLV as a recruiting coordinator from 1981 to 1984. Lastly, the school would only owe him $1 million. Additionally, speculation arose that the legendary NFL coach had a handshake deal with the school to make his son, Steve, the new head coach whenever the elder Belichick left.
Above all, landing in Miami would allow Belichick to play his former team, the New England Patriots. Recently, the head coach banned Patriots staff from the North Carolina facility, stating, “It’s clear that I’m not welcome around their facility,” when asked about the ban. “And so, they’re not welcome at ours. It’s pretty simple.”
That level of enmity could incentivize Belichick to return to the AFC East, where the Dolphins play the Patriots twice annually in the regular season. Will Belichick return to the NFL?